Split 'news' shocks nation

2006-12-14 10:24

Brussels - The Belgian public television station RTBF shocked viewers late on Wednesday with a dramatic - but fake - news report that the Dutch-speaking half of the nation had declared independence.

The Francophone station abruptly interrupted programming with the mock report, hoping to stir up debate a few months before an election in a country with distinct divisions between its Dutch and French-speaking regions.

"Up until now, the debate has been confined to academic and political circles. We want a more public debate," said Yves Thiran, head of news at RTBF.

However, Elio di Rupo, regional premier of the Francophone Wallonia region, said the broadcast was unacceptable.

The station broadcast interviews with real Belgian politicians, and showed cheering crowds holding the Flemish flag and huge traffic jams leading to Brussels airport.

The station's website briefly crashed because of the number of hits.

Thiran said the mock documentary took a year to make.

He compared the station's attempt to stir political debate to the radio theatre staged by US director Orson Welles in October 1938, when he fooled many Americans with mock news announcements that Martians had invaded Earth.

In Welles's case, meant purely for entertainment, the highly dramatised War of the Worlds broadcasts caused general panic and led to tighter rules for broadcasters.

"We wanted to show the day after ... Orson Welles's War of the Worlds served as a model," Thiran said.

He added that the fictional broadcasts would continue on RTBF's radio channel on Thursday morning.

Elections in the Flemish north of Belgium frequently reveal strong support for separation from the Francophone half of the country that used to dominate Belgium, politically and economically.

Those seeking independence for Flanders, now the economic powerhouse of the country, argue that Francophone Wallonia is a drain on public resources.

The far-right, nationalist Vlaams Blok, now called Vlaams Belang, became the largest single party in the Flemish regional parliament with a quarter of the vote in 2004.

A spokesperson for Vlaams Belang said RTBF was ridiculing a serious topic.

"They are making a joke of the autonomy of Flanders, whichever way you want to see it ... It's a real sign, not just from Wallonia, but from the media, to in fact to say we don't want to go any further with the debate," the spokesperson said.

- Reuters